JOHN MALTBY (2)

John Maltby, oldest son of William Maltby, Esq., was born, according to Mr. Ralph D. Smith, in 1670. Where he was born and the nome of his mother are not known.

?Branford Annals,? by Baldwin (N. H. Hist. Soc. Papers, Vol. III., p. 269) has this paragraph, referring to him: ?March 9, 1687-8, John Rosewell, Samuel Hoadley, Jon. Foote, Josiah Frisbie, William Barker, John Maultbie and Isaac Bartholemew were granted a parcel of land a mile square in the N. W. portion of the town.

They were to divide it among themselves as they could agree. They were young men pushing out to make new homes. They were thus the founders of families that have been prominent in North Branford since.?

Mr. Ralph D. Smith wrote concerning John Maltby: ?He was a Cooper, but belonged to the better class in Society . . . . He lived in Saybrook all of his life.? I do not think John Maltby went to Saybrook to live until sometime after 1694, when he would have been twenty-four years of age, as we find these records in Branford:

1682. ?Land was given by the town to Jno. Maltbye, about 1682.

On page 43 of ?Branford Annals? we find the following:

?North Branford. In 1687, March 4, John Maltbie (also spelled Maultbie). He was probably a son of William Maultbie.? Also: ?March 21, 1700, John Maultbie removes to New London and sells to his father William.?

1686. ?John Maltbye makes his mark (+) to an agreement that Jno. Rosewell have his land in one piece, March 8, 1686-7. (Bran. Rec., Vol. II., p. 37). Why he should have made his mark at 16 years of age, with his father so fine a penman is a question, unless he were ill at the time.

Rev. Jonathon (4) Maltby wrote of him: ?of Yale Coll., but did not graduate for want of health.? As yale College was not founded till 1700, this can hardly be correct, though it is possible that Rev. Jonathon?s (4) statement alluded to his son, John (3).

1694. ?John Maltbie entered his earmark, which is a hollow crop, on the top of the near ear, and a crop on the off ear, and a slit in the same ear, April 17, 1694. (Bran. Rec., Vol. I., p. 223). Between this date and 1699, his father purchased a place for him in Saybrook, probably at the time of his marriage in 1696.

According to Mr. Ralph Smith and to Mr. Francis Parker of Hartford, John Maltby married Hannah Lord, daughter of Capt. William and Lydia Buckland (Brown) Lord of Saybrook, and granddaughter of Thomas and Dorothy ----- Lord of Hartford. A marriage into a good family, as is well known. The date of the above marriage was Aug. 13, 1696.

1699. In this year we find the following item: ?I John Maltbie of Saybrook, sell to my honored father, Wm. Maltbie of Branford, for the sum of œ8 a piece of land, etc. March 15, 1699. Acknowledge before
Wm. Maltbie, Justic Peace.

The will of John Maltby is dated March 11, 1727, recorded and proved Sept. 12, 1727. It mentions wife Hannah, children John, Nathaniel, Hannah, Mary, Jane and Dorothy. He gave each of his daughters a share in his mansion house; gave his Coopers tools and shop; Malt house; tub and haircloth, etc. The amount of his property was œ459, 17s, 2d. (Probate record, Guilford). Made his wife Hannah executrix. John Maltby, according to Mr. Ralph Smith, ?died August ? 1727, at the age of 57.? His will is witnessed by ?Samuel Williard.?*

* NOTE ? A son of John Maltby?s stepmother, by her first husband, Josiah Williard. Samuel Willard resided at Saybrook; as viz., the following record: ?Samuel Willard of Saybrook quit claims to Stephen Willard of Wethersfield, his title to the land of his honored father, Josiah Willard, 30 Dec., 1699.

? The old Maltby Crest, of which we show a photograph, belonged at one time to Hannah Maltby, and possibly to her father, John. Indeed, there is a strong possibility that he built it himself.

? This date of birth may be incorrect as the Guilford records read: ?Died. Jane Maltbie, from Saybrook, 30, June 12, 1737.? This would make her birth year 1707.

Nannah, the widow of John Maltby married, Jan. 17, 1730, Abraham Hodgkin. The records of the descendants of the above John and Hannah Lord Maltby will be found in the Maltby Genealogy, now nearing completion.

Additional notes of the children of John (2) Maltby.

John (3) Maltby m. Mehitable Clarke. They had children: Esther, William, supposed to have died unmarried; Mehitable and Abby. From these records it will be seen that the male line of John (2) died out in this generation.

YE MALTBY CHEST
I. M. -- 1726
Quaint heirloom, as alone this day you stand
A relic of the past, what could you tell
Of our ancestors and the home and land
From whence they came, and of that one as well
Who formed you for his own utility.
With somewhat even of skill and artistry,
In red and black and gold traced clearly see
The letters and the date, which seem to give
An index of the owner?s family,
As well as time in which the man did live,--
John Maltby, grandson of the one we own
As sire of Maltbys in our lineage known.
This we may gather, but no further clue,
From which to unroll the years between,
That early date and this, is given by you;
Nor may we ever know all you have seen,
Made as you were full half a century
Before this country?s Independency.
You know the natives who tried souls of men;
Witnessed privations, loss; disease and death,
And midst those scenes saw the swift rise and gain
Of a new nation ? even to Freedom?s breath, --
A nation known this day, her treasure sought
By all lands, and we cry, ?What has God wrought!?
Yet pride and honor, wealth and fame must pass,
Not even a nation can unchanged remain,
The things we value in an instant flash
Are gone from us, we must new treasure gain;--
But still, with you old chest, to our loved Tree?
The Maltby Genealogy ? cling we.
--SERAPH MALTBIE DEAN.
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Note.?The compiler has a copy of a letter written from Falls Village, Connecticut, December 24th, 1867, by Dr. Charles Benjamin Maltbie, father of Mrs. Dean, in which he says: ?I have now in my possession a sea-chest, marked I. M. 1726 on the front of it, the old English standing for J as well. This chest was willed to me in a formal manner by one Abram Hodgkin, a descendant of the elder brother in whose possession it had come into by the way of his mother. Thes facts are mostly derived from him, he says that the elder John had one son, John, and several daughters, that this son, John, had five daughters and no son, etc.?

Abraham (4) Hodgkin was born April 9, 1731, and married March 20, 1755, Sarah Stone. He died ?about 1852 at an advanced age? according to Dr. C. B. Maltbie. He was the oldest child of Hannah (3) Maltbie, born Sept. 18, 1704, in Saybrook and who married, Jan. 17, 1730, Abraham Hodkin, in Guilford, Connecticut. Hannah (3) was the daughter of John (2) and Hannah (Lord) Maltbie, and the granddaughter of William (1) and Mary ? ------ Maltbie.

According to Mr. Ralph D. Smith, of Guilford, John (2) Maltby died in August, 1727, so we take it for granted that the sea chest was not his, but belonged to his son, John (3), who married Nov. 12, 1724, Mehitable Clarke.

The chest evidently reverted to his sister Hannah.

Of course there is a possibility that the chest belonged to John (2), and when he died in 1726 it went to his oldest daughter, and she may have had the ?I. M. 1726? put on. This perhaps is the most natural explanation. Indeed, ?What could ou tell of our ancestor!? Could we but discover some secret drawed or hiding place in you ? with a bit of yellowed paper, telling something of those who brought you over seas ? what a happy find that would be!